Garcia-trained Jose Ramirez to defend title against Jose Zepeda on Feb. 10

Jose Ramirez, left, follows through on a left to Amir Imam during their fight on March 17, 2018. Ramirez, who is trained by Oxnard native Robert Garcia, will defend his WBC World junior welterweight title against Jose Zepeda on Feb. 10.(Photo: The Associated Press)

Jose Ramirez is attempting to become the best fighter at 140 pounds. With Oxnard trainer Robert Garcia in his corner, that could become a reality.

Ramirez will defend his WBC World junior welterweight title against Jose Zepeda on Sunday, Feb. 10. The 12-round bout will take place at the Save Mart Center in Fresno.

ESPN and ESPN Deportes will broadcast the fight live, starting at 4 p.m.

Ramirez successfully defended his world title belt in his last bout on Sept. 14, outboxing Antonio Orozco for 12 rounds to win by unanimous decision. The fight marked the first with Garcia as Ramirez’s trainer.

The 26-year-old Ramirez (23-0, 16 knockouts) is very popular throughout the San Joaquin Valley. He resides in nearby Avenal, where he worked in the agricultural fields with his father as a boy.

Zepeda will present a stiff challenger for Ramirez. The southpaw Zepeda (30-1, 25 KOs), who resides in La Puente, has won his last seven bouts since losing to then-WBO lightweight titleholder Terry Flanagan of England.

The 29-year-old Zepeda has stopped five of his last seven opponents.

Ramirez has expressed unifying the division, but that will not happen anytime soon. Ramirez is not part of the World Boxing Super Series (WBSS) 140-pound tournament, where many of the top fighters in the division are competing in. WBA titleholder Kiryl Relikh will face WBC mandatory challenger Regis Prograis and IBF titleholder Ivan Baranchyk squares off against Josh Taylor sometime in late March or April, with the winners facing each other later in 2019.

There is a possibility of fighting WBO titleholder Maurice Hooker of Dallas, but Hooker may make a voluntary defense before a possible unification fight with Ramirez.

In the meantime, Ramirez focuses on issues, in and out of the ring.

When he is not training in Riverside at Garcia’s gym, Ramirez has been active in his community. During California’s drought a few years ago, Ramirez traveled to Sacramento to speak to lawmakers about releasing water from reservoirs for area growers to keep farmworkers employed.

Ramirez will do the same for the Feb. 10 card. Money raised from auctioning off his trunks, gloves, shoes and shirt worn that night, along with a portion of ticket sales, will go to the Community Cancer Institute in nearby Clovis.

“I feel blessed to defend my title a second time at home against a great opponent and also support an issue that affects everyone and their families,” said Ramirez. “Let’s all band together to KO cancer and remember that every moment counts.”

“Jose Ramirez is a great young champion and an even better person,” Arum said of the 2012 U.S. Olympian. “We are proud to be involved with an event that will raise a tremendous amount of exposure for cancer research. The fans in the Central Valley have supported Jose since Day 1, and I expect another fantastic crowd at the Save Mart Center.”

Ramirez is advised by Rick Mirigian, who handles his endorsements and public appearances in the area.

Also on the card, 18-year-old Gabriel Flores (11-0, 5 KOs), who resides in Stockton, will square off against Alex Torres Rynn (6-2, 3 KOs) of Calgary in a six-round bout.

Flores made headlines by becoming the youngest person to sign a promotional deal. Flores signed with Top Rank at the age of 16 and made his pro debut four days after his 17th birthday.

Shorts jabs

Sergey Kovalev will face Eleider Alvarez (24-0, 12 KOs) on Feb. 2 at The Ford Center at The Star in Frisco, Texas, which is the practice facility of the Dallas Cowboys. The fight is a rematch of their Aug. 4 clash, which Kovalev (32-3, 28 KOs) was winning before he was knocked out in the seventh round, losing his WBO World light heavyweight title in the process. The fight will air on ESPN and it will take place the night before the Super Bowl at AT&T Stadium in nearby Arlington.

A fight card will take place at the Chumash Casino Resort in Santa Ynez on Friday, Jan. 11. The World Fighting Championships 98 card will feature local pro and amateur fighters who live and train in Ventura and Santa Barbara counties.

Francisco A. Salazar covers boxing for The Star. Francisco also covers boxing for RingTV, Boxingscene.com, and FightNights.com. He can be reached on Twitter at FSalazarBoxing.